NKU women’s basketball returned home Sunday after their time at the San Diego Classic to host the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, still looking for their first conference win of the season.
Macey Blevins made her return to the lineup for NKU Sunday after a five game absence due to an ankle injury and she made her presence felt immediately. She had eight of the Norse’s first 10 points to propel them to an early 10-2 lead.
Madison Royal-Davis would then find a groove for Oakland going on an individual 4-0 run to cut the deficit to 12-6.
NKU would then go on a 8-3 run propelled by a couple made jumpers from Kamora Morgan and layups from Halle Idowu and Noelle Hubert to push the NKU lead back out to 20-9. The Golden Grizzlies would not end the quarter quietly as Maddy Skorupski got going to the tune of six straight points. An Anna Hamilton layup at the buzzer gave NKU a 22-15 lead after one quarter.
The first half would be the tale of two quarters as Oakland dominated the second. NKU would hold the lead for a while thanks to made jumpers from Blevins and Kalissa Lacy, but that is when the dynamic duo of Skorupski and Macy Smith got going for Oakland. They would account for the next nine points for the Golden Grizzlies to cut the deficit to 27-24.
A Royal-Davis free throw and Jasmine Dupree-Hebert three pointer would give Oakland its first lead of the game heading into the first media timeout of the second quarter.
NKU would go on a small 5-0 run to take the lead back. All five points were scored by Morgan. The Golden Grizzlies would quickly respond with buckets from the Skorupski and Smith duo that paced the Oakland offense. The quarter would close on a Smith layup after Dupree-Hebert and Sereniti Roberts-Adams found the bottom of the net to give Oakland a 39-36 halftime lead.
The second half would be fueled by aggressive play from NKU. After only one total free throw in the first half, NKU made a concerted effort that led to them shooting nine free throws in the third quarter. An Abby Wolterman made layup gave NKU a short-lived lead before Dani Grim gave Oakland the lead back at 42-41.
The teams would trade baskets as the front court of Idowu and Walterman connected on jumpers, but were matched by Smith and Lianna Baxter who were able to get tough shots to go. A Skorupski three pointer would send Oakland into the media timeout with a 50-47 lead.
Morgan would tie the game before an exchange of made jumpers from Wolterman and Baxter would send the game to the fourth quarter tied at 52.
The stars of the game, Skorupski and Blevins, would get the final quarter started with back and forth jumpers to find NKU with a slim lead of 58-57. A 6-0 run from Morgan, who ended the game with a career high 23 points, would give the Norse a 64-59 lead.
The next stretch would be all free throws as Morgan would register two and Oakland would answer with three of its own. Then Skorupski and Smith would connect on back-to-back shots to give Oakland a 68-67 lead.
A frantic last play resulted in Idowu going to the free throw line with a chance to win the game. She made the first to tie but missed the second. NKU would force a turnover on Oakland’s buzzer beater attempt and the game would head to overtime as the score was knotted at 68.
Grim and Blevins would trade jumpers to start the extra period. Baxter and Skorupski would give Oakland a 74-70 lead halfway through overtime. Idowu would then score twice and Mya Meredith added to the NKU total with a jumper. A Grim and Baxter bucket would be topped off by a Royal Davis free throw to give Oakland what seemed an insurmountable lead, up 82-75.
Poor free throw shooting would keep NKU in it as Meredith and Morgan were able to consistently knock down shots to cut it to a 83-82 game. Skorupski would then split a pair of free throws to allow NKU one last shot. Morgan would drive and get tangled up before having a pass intercepted by Oakland who leads the Horizon league in steals.
Skorupski would go to the line and ice the game with two made free throws to win 86-85 in overtime.The Norse fall to 3-11 and are still searching for their first Horizon League win of the season.
Blevins had 20 points in her return from injury. The Oakland dynamic duo of Skorupski and Smith played all 45 minutes of the game on their way to combining for 49 points.
The Norse begin a stretch of four of the next six games on the road Thursday as they travel to Green Bay to clash with the Phoenix. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.